How can we give voice to the fastest growing minority in the United States? How can we eliminate inflammatory labels like illegal aliens and deportables? Join me for a discussion of the book, Dreaming Forward that tells the stories of Mexican-Americans in their own voices. Their earliest dreams often began in Mexico when they decided to move to the U.S. for opportunity. Some of these dreams led to disappointment; however, there is a strong commitment to dream forward while holding on to a deep respect for the past. What does dreaming forward really mean?

I recently interviewed 40 individuals from two Mexican-American communities on the south side of Chicago. My original purpose was to uncover community attitudes toward the public education system, but the stories I heard went far beyond that. They evolved into a series of stories that describe the challenges and dreams of individuals who most often have a history in Mexico. Six themes emerged from the stories that represent issues and concerns experienced in all Latino communities in urban areas across the United States. They all relate to an overall focus on education but also describe clearly some of the other factors that are significant for building and sustaining healthy communities.

One of the strongest themes relates to the importance of family and community. It was really important to everyone that they live in a community that reflects their ethnic and cultural heritage. They want to live near family and friends and raise their children in an environment that would expose them to cultural traditions. Dolly told me how the members of her dad’s family all followed each other from Mexico to Chicago, “We lived right next to each other in the same building. I think that was very important, especially since in Mexico, it’s all about family. You tend to mingle with each other and be involved in each other’s lives…They wanted a little bit of Mexico here.”

Closely related to staying together as a community, were the ongoing concerns about crime and the lack of safety, another strong theme across the stories. There is a great deal of tension around staying in a community that carries risks and wanting to reduce that threat by moving to a safer location. Jose, who was raised in the community and has chosen to raise his family there, told me about the night his daughter jumped out of bed and fell to the floor due to the sound of gunshots outside their windows. He said, “…I thought to myself, God it’s very likely that something could come in through the window and hit her. You know? You don’t hear this every night…but if you hear this two times a year, that’s a lot. That’s more than enough.” Despite his constant fear and vigilance, Jose stays in the community to be near his parents and dreams forward to the day things will be safer. His family had the opportunity to move but chose to stay and work to make it better.

Choosing between a community that vibrates with your ethnic and cultural history and one that is safer is a difficult decision and one that many of us never have to make. Do you strengthen a community by staying and working for change from the inside, or is it more effective to move away and hope that sends a signal to policymakers to develop the community from the outside?